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NORTH COAST DISTRICT NEWS
February 12, 2021
“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can.
In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can.
As long as ever you can.” 
EAST OHIO CONFERENCE NEWS
A Budget Message from Conference Council on Finance & Administration:
Faithfulness Amidst a Pandemic: God is with us!

To: East Ohio Pastors, Congregations, and Faith Communities,

As we lean into 2021, we celebrate the amazing witness of God’s love that sustained us in a year unlike any other in our memory. As the COVID pandemic forced all of us to “rethink” how to do church in ways that pushed us into unknown territory, God’s Spirit awakened us. We found ourselves not alone but, in the refrain echoed across the country in early 2020, we realized that “we are in this together.” Friends, as we glance at God’s movement in our lives last year, we see much for which to be thankful.

We celebrate the faithful commitment of our local churches that paid 100% of their apportionments. We saw an 8% decline in local churches paying full apportionments but praise God for those who were able to still maintain their level of giving. The creative adaptability of our pastors and churches enabled over 100 churches to increase their giving in 2020 and we even had four churches give to apportionments that had been unable to do so in the past. Truly, God’s Spirit was moving even amidst a pandemic to help us find a way. Our Conference can accomplish a great deal through shared ministry that local churches could not accomplish on their own. Yet, at the same time, we know that the most critical investment for mission and ministry are those made at the local church....

To read the entire message, click HERE.

To view Bishop Malone's message, click HERE or on the image above.
EOC Black Clergy Share Their Experiences of Race and Ministry

The East Ohio Conference Black Pastors' Fellowship and the office of Multicultural Vitality have produced a new video series aimed at creating discussion and moving all of us towards racial justice. Each video is accompanied by questions to be answered either for personal reflection or as part of small group discussions.

"For too long we have swept our racial matters under the rug or hidden them in our closets. We need to heal on purpose. We need to intentionally work on things that have kept us away from each other and have led to a lack of understanding between the races,” said Rev. Angela Lewis, pastor of Doylestown UMC and vice-president of the EOC Black Pastors' Fellowship.

Rev. Gerald Cameron & Rev. Dr. Yvonne Conner
“I remember a lady coming up to me (at his first appointment) and saying, ‘you’re colored.’ It left me feeling like an outsider at a place that I am called to serve.”
- Rev. Gerald Cameron, pastor, Celebration UMC

“Racism is a systemic cloud that really dances among us and if it’s not properly addressed it causes fertile ground to really weaken and tender plants to wither and die. So, I believe in the ministry of The UMC and its untapped ability to reach deeper into issues of injustice and racism.”
- Rev. Dr. Yvonne Conner, Retired Elder

To connect to the Monday highlight articles about EOC Black Clergy in Ministry throughout February, click HERE
EOC NEWS
Have you checked out the East Ohio Conference E-News lately? It is a biweekly newsletter full of news, events, Conference updates -- including from the Bishop, Benefits Office, and Director of Finance and Administration -- and more! You can subscribe for email delivery or check out their webpage to see what's happening. For the last installment from 02.08.21 please click HERE.
General & Jurisdictional Conferences Webinar – February 13

An informational webinar about the postponed 2020 General and Jurisdictional Conferences will be livestreamed at 2:00 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, February 13. U.S. delegates will participate via Zoom and all others may view the livestream of the session.

Facilitated by Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi of the Western Pennsylvania Conference and hosted by Tyrus Sturgis, director of Leader Communications at United Methodist Communications, participants and viewers will see presentations about the state of General Church finances, the state of the Episcopal Fund, General Conference options, the Jurisdictional Study Committee Report, and an episcopal election recommendation from the Council of Bishops.
CALENDAR AT A GLANCE:
February
2/15: 2020 M & M grant evaluations due for those who received funding

Spring
Spring District Conference TBA

April
4/4: Easter Sunday
4/5: District Office Closed

June
6/16-19: Annual Conference at the John S. Knight Center in Akron

August
8/29-9/7: General Conference in Minneapolis MN

November
11/10-12: Jurisdictional Conference in Fort Wayne IN
*Please remember that the District Office is always closed on Fridays*
AROUND THE DISTRICT & BEYOND
STAY HOME
Nehemiah Annual Fundraiser: Chama Box

The 2021 Nehemiah Mission Annual Celebration Dinner is being held in your dining room! You don’t have to clean it up and prepare though, Because as much as we would love to see you in person, we’re going to hold a virtual celebration this year. 
 
Celebrate our 17th year with “Chama Box” ( Swahili for party ). It was a different kind of year, so it calls for a different kind of celebration. 
 
Beginning February 1st, 2021 we’re taking orders for “Chama Box”. In it, you will find ingredients and a recipe for an authentic African dish, some awesome hand crafted gifts from ButterPear, our “year in review”, a message from Bishop Tracy S Malone, and you’ll find out who has been named 2020 Volunteer of the Year. All this for a donation of just $100.00. You will receive your box after the week of April 6, tracking number provided at shipment, along with instructions on how to share your experience. For our PREMIUM BOX you will also received a handcrafted wood carving from one of ButterPear's artists in West Africa with a donation of $150.
 
But wait there’s more... You will also receive the satisfaction of knowing that you are contributing to the ongoing support of all this...
 
1500 Community Meals served through Bread on Bridge
100 + African refugee Children mentored, tutored, traveled, fed, entertained and loved through #Corner65
Homeless fed and sheltered and 6000 pounds of food distributed through Luke 3:11 Trailer and Sheltering Ministry
Homes restored, heated, painted and cleaned through Seeds of Hope. 
 
It was a strange year for us, just like everywhere else. But your faithfulness helped us to adjust and adapt and keep right on looking out for God’s children. So, order your “Chama Box” and help us keep it all going in 2021 and beyond! Visit the link below to order your box today!
Letting God’s Love In
Saturday, February 13, 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm
via ZOOM

Facilitated by Sharon Seyfarth-Garner
Belly of the Whale Ministries

Color-Your-Own Mandala Valentines
Turn your attention from the commercial trappings of Valentine’s Day (cards, candies and gifts) to God’s love that transcends it all.  Explore how a focus on intercessory prayer can help keep God at the center of our Valentine’s Day celebrations.  Using mandala designs from Sharon’s books (Praying with Mandalas and Mandalas, Candles, and Prayer) each participant will prayerfully create two “color-your-own valentine’s cards” to share with those they love.  Show yourself a little self-love by making space for rest and renewal this Valentine’s Day. Then pass on the love through the cards you create and share. Printable PDF’s of the color-your-own mandala cards will be made available for all participants.

Click HERE to register. Cost is $20
Fields UMC -- Ash Wednesday Service
Wednesday, February 17 at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

On Ash Wednesday, Fields UMC will provide imposition of ashes through two drive through events, 7 a.m. – 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. In addition, the church sanctuary will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for prayer and the imposition of ashes with contemplative music.

Fields UMC is striving to follow all State of Ohio and CDC COVID–19 guidelines as well as the tenet of church founder John Wesley, which is ‘Do no harm’.

For more information on our Ash Wednesday imposition of ashes events, contact the church office at (440) 327-8753, or visit our website at http://www.fieldsumc.org. We are located at 34077 Lorain Rd., North Ridgeville, Ohio.
For more information, please click HERE for a full flyer of the event.

You may also find more information and connect to register on the Rocky River UMC website HERE.

Interested in what is going on throughout the East Ohio Conference? Check out all the news, events, and more at: eocumcnews.com
Submit your request for publication of an event, job ad, or need to Stephanie at [email protected] by Wednesday at 12 noon to run in the Friday NCD News. Please be aware that the less words the better! Grab attention with basic W facts (who, what, when, where, why), and if possible, provide a link to more information online. Flyers are not always easily readable in this format.
The North Coast District of The United Methodist Church
4700 Rockside Rd., Suite 300
Independence OH 44131
(216) 441-4527 • [email protected]
 http://www.eocumc.com/northcoast/

NCD Office Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.*
(*Please note that District staff is working remotely during these office hours)